Category Archives: tea

Metrodeco is entering this year’s awards in the ‘Best Cafe’ section. There are loads of great entrants – but if you’ve ever been to Metrodeco and you think we deserve to win, we be very touched if you’d vote for … Continue reading →

We asked you to come up with a fitting name for our new loose leaf tea and the suggestions have been flooding in for the last week. Slurping on the new rooibos blend, we debated which entry best befitted both the tea and the 1930s art deco ambience at Metrodeco.

We even ordered the cuppa from our staff, trying out each name in turn, to see which one rolled most exquisitely off the tongue, making it a joy to say as well as to drink.

So after much mental torture and agonising deliberation, we have come to a decision.

The name we have chosen for our new rooibis, vanilla and rhubarb tea is…Terracotta Sunburst.

We felt that it really does embrace the essence of the tea while encapsulating a reference to a true Art Deco shape (‘sunburst’) used in many mirrors of the period.

So congratulations to Mike Lank for coming up with such a great name and thank you to all the other entrants.

Mike wins a free Afternoon Tea for Two (worth £28), a pouch of Terracotta Sunburst and – best of all, we think – a free pot of that blend any time he visits Metrodeco for the next year. And to show our appreciation to everyone who entered the competition, we would like to give you all a cup of the tea you nearly named. So please come in and enjoy a pot of Terracotta Sunburst on the house when you’ve got a moment to enjoy a tea that tastes – and sounds – exquisite.

And if you want to buy any of our 20 gourmet blends and single leaf teas online (they make great gifts!), visit our online tea shop.

Okay the judges are retiring to consider your suggestions for the name of our new vanilla and rhubarb rooibos tea.

As we explained here, the winner will get a free Afternoon Tea for two (worth £28), a gourmet pouch of tea emblazoned with the winning name (worth about £5) and a free pot of that blend whenever they visit Metrodeco in the next year.

There were so many excellent entries, our panel of experts has asked for an extra 24 hours to deliberate.

Don’t be frightened to try and sway their decision in the comments section below!

But I guess you probably don’t quite appreciate just how much I love the nation’s favourite drink.

It’s not just the taste.

I adore the light perfume of some leaves and the dense, woody aroma of others. I love the flirtatious, glitzy pinks and lip-stick reds of our infusions and sunset ambers of our breakfast teas as you pour them into gleaming white China cups. I love the feeling of slap-your-face freshness after a slurp of mint tea and the sweet, spicy warmth of a nice masala chai.

Helen takes in the sights of Pushkar, India

There’s a blend or leaf for almost every occasion and mood.

So when my partner suggested India as a holiday destination, which is, of course, a major grower of tea, I had to go and see how this wonderful, healthy drink makes its way from a plantation into our cups. (There’s a link to a short film of the trip at the end of this blog).

I already knew a bit about the process – from reading books and websites and talking to Metrodeco’s Master Blender, Alex Probyn, who would have a black belt in tea if it were a martial art.

But it was an enriching experience to stroll in a plantation in the shadow of the Himalayas with the sun on my back. It was equally fascinating to visit a co-operative factory, where we chatted to the growers, tasters, packers and quality control experts.

Anyway, without further ado: here’s a short film of our trip (which had an especially happy ending because my partner, Michael, proposed and we’re getting married in autumn).

We’ve had some tweets from people saying the swarm badge already been unlocked in the UK. Yes, we know! But what we are saying is that we don’t think there has ever been a successful dedicated swarm badge party in the UK, where the sole purpose was to unlock the badge.

The badge has only ever been unlocked where there have been people already gathered – like football matches, festivals and conferences. We’ve checked with Foursquare – but please tell us if we’re wrong. So we think it would be special to be the first successful swarm badge party.

And now the updates

Apart from a free glass of bubbly, you will also get a free sing at Brighton’s home of Karaoke, Lucky Voice, if you check in when we attempt the swarm. Details at the Lucky Voice blog.

Foursquare have promised us the network will be working during our attempt so there shouldn’t be any technical problems.

The current invitation suggests a hashtag #BrightonFoursquare4sqflashmob but this seems too long (hat tip @aral). Someone else kindly built the invitation for us – so we can’t change it. But can we please use the shorter hashtag #ukswarm instead?

Finally, this will only work if you invite people to come along to Metrodeco, 38 Upper St James’s Street, Brighton, from 7-8pm on Thursday August 12. So please tell all your friends online and offline.